A walnut a day keeps the doctor away, says new study

Daily walnut consumption could have beneficial effects when it comes to delaying age-related health issues, a new study has found.

Initial findings from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) study presented at Experimental Biology 2016 (EB) indicate that eating the nuts daily could positively impact blood cholesterol levels without adverse effects on body weight among older adults.

The dual site two-year clinical trial, supported by the California Walnut Commission, was conducted by researchers from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and Loma Linda University. It saw 707 healthy older adults divided into two groups. One group added daily doses of walnuts totaling around 15% of their caloric intake to their diets, while the other group stayed off the nuts. Both diets had minimal effect on body weight, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterol over 12 months, but the walnut-eating group experienced significant LDL cholesterol reductions.

The annual EB meeting runs from April 2-6 in San Diego.